The effects of ongoing drought in the Horn of Africa region have intensified the situation in Somalia, already precarious due to 20 years of violent conflict: food prices have gone up, livestock are dying, and humanitarian aid in the country is scarce. MSF's Marere Hospital in southern Somalia is the only health facility in the area. A Somali medical worker from Marere described the current crisis.

Today, the southern region of Sudan is confronted by constant emergencies: malnutrition is chronic, violence continues to destroy lives and displace the population, and preventable diseases are relentless killers. More than 75 percent of the population has still no access to any form of basic healthcare. In addition to providing a range of medical services in 13 states of Sudan, at this moment MSF is battling to contain the biggest kala azar outbreak in eight years. And, as Sudan is heading towards a referendum on January 9th, MSF teams are preparing for any needs that might arise in addition to the ongoing medical challenges. If emergency needs soar, whether through violence, displacement or outbreak of diseases, MSF needs to be ready.

Year after year, thousands of people come from countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Somalia looking for a better life in Europe. Seventy percent of them enter through Greece, according to UN numbers. If they are caught, these migrants are arrested and held in detention centers – overcrowded, underserviced holding cells – for days or months. MSF is currently running a mental health program in two centers in the north, on the border with Turkey.

After a year of responding to the post-earthquake needs and the cholera epidemic that began in October, MSF has reviewed its own work in Haiti, and speaks out about what we see as the failure of the international aid system to respond adequately to the still enormous needs on the ground.

From Port-au-Prince we bring you a report on MSF's emergency response to the Haiti earthquake; in the first three weeks MSF treated more than 11,000 patients. You'll hear from Haitian and international staff, as well as patients, on the ground.

In our main reports, hear how MSF's program for victims of sexual violence has helped one 17-year-old in Guatemala, which has a striking 10,000 reported cases per year. Also hear an interview with an MSF water and sanitation specialist who has just returned from Bangladesh, where, two months after Cyclone Aila, survivors are still struggling.